Income gap seen in Sandy recovery

Some homes suffered more damage from Superstorm Sandy than others. A new report shows that wealthier households have made more repairs in the year since the storm, too.

One year after Superstorm Sandy, more than 75% of the households that were damaged by the storm and reported at least an average annual income of $57,000 have seen full repairs to their homes.

However, only about half of households with total incomes below that threshold have had their homes fully repaired, according to a survey released Thursday by Enterprise Community Partners, a nationwide nonprofit advocating for affordable housing.

"As a city, this is the kind of number we should be keeping an eye on," said Bomee Jung, deputy director of the nonprofit's New York office, which commissioned two surveys in September. One covers the entire tri-state region and another focuses on New York City.

"I think it is a question of resources," Ms. Jung said. "When we are talking about low-income families, we are talking about folks who are living paycheck to paycheck and who can't save for repairs due a storm."

Who can and cannot afford to rebuild could have a lasting impact on the demographics of the city's coastal communities, as Crain'sreported last week.

The definition of low-income varies by family size, but nearly 15% of all households in the city reported some damage resulting from the storm. Out of those households, 65% told Enterprise that all repairs on their Sandy-damaged homes were now complete. About one quarter said the damage was partially repaired and 10% said nothing had been done at all.

The nonprofit also drew on data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the numbers suggested that in the city and across the region, low-income households had a tougher time than their wealthier counterparts on a number of fronts.

For openers, more low-income households requested help from FEMA in the five boroughs. Of the nearly 150,000 New Yorkers who applied for FEMA grants, roughly a third reported an annual income of less than $15,000, the report found. Meanwhile, only about 15% of applicants made $90,000 or more.

Households making less money were more likely to rent and therefore to depend on landlords to perform the necessary repairs. Wealthier households tended to own their homes and therefore to be able to undertake the work themselves. In the tri-state area, the survey found only half of renting households reported living in fully repaired homes, compared to 65% of homeowners.

In addition, just over a third of renters said that they would like to move out of Sandy-damaged homes but could not do so because of lease obligations.

Crain’s New York Business is the trusted voice of the New York business community—connecting businesses across the five boroughs by providing analysis and opinion on how to navigate New York’s complex business and political landscape.